madPeople.
The idea that drives CavyMadness is knowing that guinea pigs, who are widely misunderstood, are a great companion for people, and that the best way to care for them is to learn from one another. CavyMadness has grown into a viable support forum of beginners worldwide; thousands of people visit the Messageboard for help with basics, or just to meet new pig-friends. Hundreds of PigPals have benefited from having a one-on-one pen pal relationship to learn from experienced people. CavyMadness serves as a portal to a wide online community of guinea pig enthusiasts, spread over many advanced sites and messageboards such as the Guinea Pig's Daily Digest and GuineaLynx (and of course, CavyMadness' own messageboard and newsletter!).

Sally Hurley
guru and board-minder extraordinaire.

Born in FL, raised in MN, live in MA. Wannabe Oceanographer that switched majors in college to Computer Science. Love programming; have been programming at the same company for over 15 years. To complement my geekiness, I am also into quilting, making sculpey ornaments, Contra dancing and, of course, guinea pigs.

I fell in love with guinea pigs as a child when I discovered that they can talk to you. I've had guinea pigs on-and-off again since I was 12, and steadily since 1996 (I can't believe that). In June 2005 I adopted a young mother/daughter pair that I named Willow and Pippin, the 6th pair of girls I've owned.

I stumbled across CavyMadness late 2002, and discovered the joy of adopting guinea pigs from shelters. That also kicked off my involvement with guinea pig events, helping to organize the Boston Pignic and eventually becoming a moderator on the CavyMadness forum. Guinea pigs are fascinating and entertaining little critters, that definitely brighten up my life.

Trina Pelham
PigPal matcher-upper and fearless mentor.

Hi, I am Trina, your Pigpals Coordinator. I look forward to matching you with a wonderful Mentor to educate you on your new furry friend. The world of piggies is so vast and I want to be there every step that I can.

I started as a Mentor in the program many years ago and I was amazed that for such a cute little furball, there was so much to know, so much to learn. It’s not that Guinea Pigs are complicated--they just have different needs and likes over your common dog or cat. The joy you get in return and the bonding love is well worth the time to learn. So let’s do it together.

I have been a Mentor for over ten years and I made it my quest to learn all that I could. I found a wonderful exotics vet named Dr. Jerry Koster here in Colorado who showed me more than I could have ever known possible with my piggies. I also spent years with Shannon Cauthen, a dear friend and she was also the owner of Cavy Care Inc. We cared for and found homes for countless numbers of piggies over the years. Her hard work and dedication to the foundation can never replaced by any other person. Her life was dedicated to these pets and her thanks was the looks from these little creatures, you could see in their eyes the love and appreciation for a second chance at life. The shelter has had to scale way back due to Shannon’s illness and she is loved and thought about around the world.

So I am so glad to be a team with Tammy and help her keep her dream of Pigpals alive. Tammy founded Pigpals many years ago to help educate new Beginners like you. Please come join us and learn; the friendships I have made Mentoring have lasted me a lifetime and with people all over the world. When you fill out your application, please be as complete as possible. This helps me match you to the right Mentor. We have Mentors that specialize in different areas of teaching so I want to get you to the right one. Please know that I do most of my matching on weekends, but if you have a question that is too important to wait and may be an emergency, you can email me directly at piggiementor@msn.com. Otherwise, please submit your application and I'll match people as soon as I can. I do look forward to hearing from you.

Tammy Raabe Rao
originator of all this madness.

I vaguely remember having a guinea pig as a pet while growing up in England, but I may have been too small to appreciate it. In 1993, my boyfriend Nhan waxed poetic at the MSPCA while holding an orange and white Peruvian guinea pig later named Basil, and thus began the genesis of my modern-day guinea pig madness. The full line of guinea pigs is chronicled in the meet the madness page. I love guinea pigs for their loafy, amicable nature. They are both strong and delicate at the same time; their rotund little selves make me happy.

I began CavyMadness in 1999, because I had been searching around online for guinea pig information, and found sites sorely lacking; a couple of very technical sites existed, but as a beginner, I was overwhelmed by their content. Since I was in my career as a print production artist, I decided to expand my skills in web design and see what I could come up with. If you're curious about this site's history, check out the Wayback Machine's archive of CavyMadness. Since then, I've developed into a freelance graphic designer and photographer, specializing in helping very small businesses develop their brand identity. I design print pieces, from stationery to magazine ads. I create Web pages. I supplement with product and event photography. I also specialize in in-home pet photography. I've always kept CavyMadness close to my heart, for it was my first "pro" website. And of course, the subject matter makes me happy.

I'm always ecstatic when I receive emails that express how CavyMadness has helped make people better pig-parents. I've received fan mail and tokens of appreciation over the years, and I am filled with happiness knowing that I've been able to reach out in my small way to people and their (new)pigs all over the world.